Simulation of Corn Desiccant Preparation Using Solar Energy

A computer simulation model was developed to model summer preparation of desiccant corn using heat from solar collectors. The desiccant provides a storage medium for solar energy in the form of drying potential and is blended with wet corn at harvest. Grain-mass/collector-area ratios from 0.27 to 8.5 t/m2 (1.0 to 31 bu/ft2) and airflow rates from 0.0019 to 0.093 m3/s-t (0.1 to 5 cfm/bu) were studied. The use of a solar collector during the summer is desirable because solar radiation is available more hours per day, the drying potential is good, and the solar collector use period is increased. The desiccant corn is blended with wet corn in the fall to reduce the average moisture content of the wet corn, therefore reducing the electrical energy to dry and reducing the spoilage risk of the wet corn. Based on the simulation results, an airflow rate of 0.014 m3/s-t (0.75 cfm/bu) along with a grain-mass/collector-area ratio between 3 and 5.5 t/m2 (11 and 20 bu/ft2) is recommended. This airflow rate and the grain-mass/collector-area ratio range will achieve a corn desiccant moisture of 8 to 10% with an acceptable collector size and electrical energy input

Grain Drying With Supplemental Solar Heat

The use of solar energy for drying shelled corn was investigated. In a three-year field study, energy re-quirements of a conventional low-temperature electric drying installation were compared with those of a similar system supplemented with the output of a simple, inex-pensive solar collector

Breakage Susceptibility of Blended Corn

A test of the breakage susceptibility of blended corn was conducted with four moisture levels of dry corn (8, 9, 11, and 8.9% desiccant) blended with 24.4% moisture corn to two theoretical moisture levels (15.5 and 20%). The study showed that blending wet and dry corn increases the Stein breakage 0.74 to 4.47 points for a 15.5% blend and 1.54 to 10.6 points for a 20% moisture blend. The breakage in local handling due to blending wet and dry corn is likely to be from 0.1 to 1.7%, which will probably not result in a discount at the time of sale

Auger-Stirring Wet and Dry Corn—Airflow Resistance and Bulk Density Effects

Eight tests were carried out to define effects of auger stirring on the airflow resistance and bulk density of wet and dry shelled corn placed in a bin by gravity or by spreader. Stirring decreased bulk density of corn placed with a spreader, but increased or left unchanged the bulk density of gravity-placed corn

Shrinkage and Corn Quality Changes in On-Farm Handling Operations

Material handling losses and corn quality changes were measured in three typical on-farm corn-drying systems. Handling losses averaged 0.78% of initial weight, with a range of 0.40% to 1.71% of initial weight. There was no indication that handling losses were related to initial moisture content. Handling losses were less than would have been assessed in shrink had the corn been delivered wet to a grain buyer. Test weight increased during drying, but the simplified Hall and Hill test weight adjustment table overpredicted these increases

Small-Scale Extrusion of Corn Masa By-Products

Corn masa by-product streams are high in fiber and are amenable for utilization in livestock feed rations. This approach is a potentially viable alternative to landfilling, the traditional disposal method for these processing residues. Suspended solids were separated from a masa processing waste stream, blended with soybean meal at four levels (0, 10, 20, and 30% wb), and extruded in a laboratory-scale extruder at speeds of 50 rpm (5.24 rad/sec) and 100 rpm (10.47 rad/sec) with temperature profiles of 80-90-100°C and 100-110-120°C. Processing conditions, including dough and die temperatures, drive torque, specific mechanical energy consumption, product and feed material throughput rates, dough apparent viscosity, and dough density, were monitored during extrusion. The resulting products were subjected to physical and nutritional characterization to determine the effects of processing conditions for these blends. Extrudate analysis included moisture content, water activity, crude protein, in vitro protein digestibility, crude fat, ash, product diameter, expansion ratios, unit and true density, color, water absorption and solubility, and durability. All blends were suitable for extrusion at the processing conditions used. Blend ratio had little effect on either processing parameters or extrudate properties; extrusion temperature and screw speed, on the other hand, significantly affected both processing and product properties

Behavior and Impact of Zirconium in the Soil–Plant System: Plant Uptake and Phytotoxicity

Because of the large number of sites they pollute, toxic metals that contaminate terrestrial ecosystems are increasingly of environmental and sanitary concern (Uzu et al. 2010, 2011; Shahid et al. 2011a, b, 2012a). Among such metals is zirconium (Zr), which has the atomic number 40 and is a transition metal that resembles titanium in physical and chemical properties (Zaccone et al. 2008). Zr is widely used in many chemical industry processes and in nuclear reactors (Sandoval et al. 2011; Kamal et al. 2011), owing to its useful properties like hardness, corrosion-resistance and permeable to neutrons (Mushtaq 2012). Hence, the recent increased use of Zr by industry, and the occurrence of the Chernobyl and Fukashima catastrophe have enhanced environmental levels in soil and waters (Yirchenko and Agapkina 1993; Mosulishvili et al. 1994 ; Kruglov et al. 1996)

Supersymmetry: From the Fermi Scale to the Planck Scale

The physics of supersymmetry is reviewed from the perspective of physics at ever increasing energies. Starting from the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model at the electroweak scale, we proceed to higher energies seeking to understand the origin of the many model parameters. Supersymmetric grand unification, supergravity, and superstrings are introduced sequentially, and their contribution to the sought explanations is discussed. Typical low-energy supersymmetric models are also presented, along with their possible experimental consequences via direct and indirect processes at high-energy physics experimental facilities. Contents 1. Introduction 2. Low-energy Supersymmetry 3. Supersymmetric Grand Unification 4. Supergravity 5. Superstrings 6. Dynamics 7. Experimental Prospects 8. ConclusionsComment: 61 pages, LaTeX, 11 figures (included). To appear in Reports on Progress in Physic

Deficiency of Leishmania phosphoglycans influences the magnitude but does not affect the quality of secondary (memory) anti-Leishmania immunity

Despite inducing very low IFN-γ response and highly attenuated in vivo, infection of mice with phosphoglycan (PG) deficient Leishmania major (lpg2-) induces protection against virulent L. major challenge. Here, we show that mice infected with lpg2- L. major generate Leishmania-specific memory T cells. However, in vitro and in vivo proliferation, IL-10 and IFN-γ production by lpg2- induced memory cells were impaired in comparison to those induced by wild type (WT) parasites. Interestingly, TNF recall response was comparable to WT infected mice. Despite the impaired proliferation and IFN-γ response, lpg2- infected mice were protected against virulent L. major challenge and their T cells mediated efficient infection-induced immunity. In vivo depletion and neutralization studies with mAbs demonstrated that lpg2- L. major-induced resistance was strongly dependent on IFN-γ, but independent of TNF and CD8(+) T cells. Collectively, these data show that the effectiveness of secondary anti-Leishmania immunity depends on the quality (and not the magnitude) of IFN-γ response. These observations provide further support for consideration of lpg2- L. major as a live-attenuated candidate for leishmanization in humans since it protects strongly against virulent challenge, without inducing pathology in infected animals